At the time one house stood on the tract of land, which had been erected and occupied by Charles Savage, a New Englander, a settler of short duration.

The town was incorporated in the 1880s and has grown to be a lively and thriving trading point of 500 people.

No better soil or finer farms lie out of doors than those contributing to the wealth of the community and with the Iowa division of the Illinois Central Railroad good transportation facilities appreciably add to the desirability of Aplington as a place for business activity and easy communication with the outside world.

The town was named by its promoters in honor of one of their number, Zenas Aplington, a resident of Illinois, who never lived here.

He owned part of the land, however, and took a lively interest in the town's welfare until his death, which occurred while serving his country in the American Civil War.

He was succeeded by Chester Stilson, who ran the store for eighteen months; then it closed its doors.

The father of Charles Savage was an early settler in this part of the county and set up a blacksmith forge in a roofless sod house.

William Bisbee came here in 1857 and opened a blacksmith shop for Zenas Aplington and managed it one year that enterprising non-resident.

E. Y. Royer bought the property in 1866 and sold it to Edward Bourns in 1867, who continued the hotel a few years.

The present hotel is an old frame structure showing the wear and tear of the elements.

The first grain elevator in Aplington was built by Alonzo McKey, at the time of the coming of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1865.

Edward Hiller would have built a mill in the 1860s, but being unable to secure on reasonable terms, the right of way for a tail race, he gave up the project.

However, John Matthews & Son, of Jackson county formed a stock company, with a capital of $14,000, in 1872.

A mill was built, but before its completion certain of the stockholders refused to meet their obligations on stock issued them, which retarded the industry for a while.

The Matthews finally turned over their interest to William Dobbins and the latter disposed of a controlling amount of the stock to A. L. Morris & Son, who had the mill running in September 1877.

The proprietors at that time, Markley & Dodswell gave employment to a number of men and consumed vast quantities of milk which were delivered from the surrounding farms.

[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.83 square miles (2.15 km2), all land.